Without Meaning To
by fluffy-fuzzy-ears
Summary: Andy's new birthday present fascinates the toys, accidentally revealing a bit more about themselves than they'd intended.


Huzzah, first (and probably last, TBH) Toy Story fanfiction! The third movie was amazing and still has me choked up whenever I watch it.

Disclaimer: Disney owns the rights to all characters affiliated with the Toy Story series.

Every toy belonging to Andy Davis was reluctantly accepting that their owner was growing up, and that play-time had largely tapered off. Every toy except for Woody. The other toys could fully understand why their leader was the most upset; the cowboy collectable was of course Andy's favourite, and a hand-me-down from his father. None of them had sustained such a deep bond with Andy (but Buzz came a close second).

Andy's transition into teenage-dom brought with it a transition in the types of gifts he received at birthdays. Gone were the days of robot toys and dolls made for little boys with active imaginations; now Andy would receive video game consoles (which Rex was all too happy with) and other electronic time-passers. Every year the Davis toys had looked forward to welcoming new additions into their family, but for the past few years, no one knew had come.

This year was no different. It was Andy's fifteenth birthday and his sole present had been a high-functioning video camera, to satisfy his newest amateur film-making passion.

Admittedly, the toys had been extremely impressed with the quality of the device. When Andy had rushed in and dropped it off on the desk, they had cautiously emerged from their place in the room's storage bin, climbing up to the desk to approach the shiny new electronic in awe.

"Wooow! Look at it guys! It's amaaazing," Rex breathed, his tiny hands twitching with the desire to play with the camera. "I wonder if it's similar to a game console?"

"Obviously not, Rex," Hamm spoke up with a touch of arrogance. "It's a Canon Powershot 20X Optical Zoom, not a PS2."

"Here comes Woody gang, why don't you let him inspect it?" Slinky said, moving aside.

Buzz, following the new-addition protocol as always, accompanied the Sheriff in checking out the camera.

"Hooooo-ey would yah look at that, Bulls-eye?!" Jesse exclaimed, she and the horse getting in on the excitement. She stepped up close to the lens, laughing at her reflection in the dark glass.

"Looks safe enough to me," murmured Buzz.

"Hmm," Woody hummed. "But what all can it do?" Obviously Andy's mother would never buy her son anything _dangerous_ per se, but still, he had to prioritize the protection of the toys before anything else, and he didn't trust this new addition. "It would be so much more helpful if the thing could speak…"

Hamm had already found the instruction manual, his little black eyes eagerly scanning the pages. He whistled in appreciation. "Pretty good specs on this thing," he commented. "Andy's mom went all out."

Buzz made his way around the camera, leaning in close. "Relax Hamm, no one's touching this thing but Andy."

The piggy-bank whined in displeasure. He'd been itching to push some buttons and take a few shots. "But it's 1080P…" he moaned.

"It's what-now?" Jesse asked. "Quit speakin' another language!"

Buzz suddenly cried out loud, jumping in front of Woody to shield him from the camera.

"What the – Buzz what's wrong?" The sheriff cried, annoyed at having been shoved and concerned for his friends.

"There's a flashing red light – sorry, reflex. Thought it was a lazer…" Buzz mumbled, embarrassed.

"Wait… a flashing red light?" Hamm said, tone becoming serious.

Rex was jumping up and down, excited. "What does that mean, Hamm?"

"Uuh, quick, someone with fingers, you need to press the little square button with the little triangle and then delete-" The rest of Hamm's hurried instructions were cut short – footsteps were approaching the room.

"No time for that now, Hamm! You know the drill everyone, get back in the box!" Buzz cringed as he said that command. He shot a sympathizing glance to Jesse, who was rubbing her hands up and down her arms and muttering to herself.

They assembled back into the darkness in the nick of time. They heard Andy enter his bedroom.

"Aw man," they heard him mumble. "Thanks Mom, I did leave it in my bedroom!" Andy yelled back downstairs.

"I told you you couldn't have lost it in one day!" She shouted back. They heard the distant snickering of Andy's little sister, Molly.

Andy sighed and turned down to his amazing new camera. He couldn't believe it when he'd opened the box – the newest Canon model for his very own! He'd already taken 300 pictures of just the immediate surroundings of his house, addicted to the quality of the results. Now all he needed was a good photo editing software…

Picking up the camera, he noticed that the mode was on "Video" and that apparently he'd left it recording. "Shit!" he cursed. That had probably just zapped all the batteries and memory, and for what, footage for who knows how long of just his bedroom wall? He was about to press the "okay" option to delete the thirteen and a half minutes of footage when a nagging instinct made him hesitate, curiousity filling the gap. "Hmmm," he mumbled.

Inside Andy's toy box, the occupants collectively held their breath, on instinct assuming that Andy had paused in his inspection of the camera because he was contemplating reviewing the secret footage. Their owner was rightfully assuming that, logically, nothing but his static bedroom wall could have been filmed. He was about to get the shock of his life. And what would that do to the relationship dynamic between Andy and his toys?

_Well at least we wouldn't be kept in this box any longer_, Woody thought a bit darkly. The worst possible outcome would be if Andy got too freaked out and just destroyed the toys altogether. His eyes met with Buzz's and he knew what they were both thinking: _Sid. _

But there was nothing they could do. Their true nature would be revealed either way.

Woody opened the toy box a crack, just to peer out and see what Andy's next course of action would be. If he chose to view the footage right away, then they would have to prepare to do… something.

"Hey Molly!" Andy called as he exited his room. "Wanna see some secret footage that my camera just took?"

"Cool okay!" the ten-year old shouted back.

"Oh this is so bad! So, so bad!" Jesse said frantically, tugging on her braid.

"Now, okay fellas calm down, Andy's not going to do anything bad to us if he finds out," Woody said, trying to calm himself down in the process.

"If?! You mean when!" Mr Potato-Head cried. His wife just moaned in distress. "Technology ruins everything! I miss the good ol' days when toys came without dials and blinking lights!"

Buzz look affronted.

"No offense, Lightyear," the talking potato toy added casually.

"None taken, cadet," the spaceman toy said, nodding astutely. "I myself do not understand how that little black box could have captured us. Maybe Hamm could explain?"

"It's like a reverse mirror…." Hamm began, unsure how to translate his technical knowledge into a language the toys could understand. "The lens at the front of the camera captures your image and stores it so you can upload to other devices, like a computer, and replay it indefinitely."

"Impressive my friend," Buzz offered. "

"Yeah, it's all amazing, but this time the images are of US," Woody stressed.

"Woody, what are we gonna do?" Slinky asked. All the toys fell silent as they waited for their leader to respond.

The sheriff sighed in defeat. "Ain't nothin' we can do, guys. Everything's about to change, for worse or better."

"Which do you reckon it'll be?" Slinky muttered.

"Definitely for worse," Mr Potato Head whispered darkly.

The worst part, in Woody's opinion, was the wait for Andy to return to the bedroom and change all their lives.

"This had better be good," Molly stated. They were sitting on the couch in the living room, Andy holding the camera in between them.

Andy rolled his eyes at his little sister's impatience. He could see a burning curiousity beneath her attempt at feigning indifference. Of course the footage was going to suck – it was just his wall. But he had to admit, he was a bit interested to see if there had been anything else captured…

When they saw Andy's old toy dinosaur peer into the camera and _vocally express_ his amazement at Andy's present, they were both floored.

"Uh…" Molly began.

"What the hell…" Andy finished in a hushed whisper.

How the…

There was a flurry of activity surrounding the camera. All of his old toys, toys that he remembered physically placing in the trunk in his room, were _alive_ and inspecting his camera. The Davis siblings watched awe and shocked disbelief.

Andy's heart caught in his chest when he saw Woody pop up on screen, his expression so different from the eternal smile Andy was so used to seeing. That blank expression, he now knew, was so fake and dead compared to the life stealing the doll's face in the footage. The voice, though distorted by the audio quality, was saying words other than those elicited by pulling the doll's string, and it – it was ridiculous, what the hell was happening? And how the hell did his piggy bank know so much about electronics?! Amazingly, Andy realized through his daze of confusion and shock, all of his toys were acting _exactly_ like he'd imagined (except the piggy bank wasn't evil, so clearly the title of "Evil Doctor Pork Chop" would have to be burned). Jesse's whoop of excitement, Rex's energy, Buzz's meticulous inspection and jump to action when they realized the camera had been filming, Woody's inquisitiveness… it all just… _fit. _

They watched as the toys scurried back to their bin (that was so sad, Andy now realized with a heavy pang of guilt), as Andy entered the room and cursed. The footage was over. With trembling hands he turned off the camera.

Neither sibling spoke for a moment. About a million questions were swirling around in Andy's mind as it attempted to process the illogical event he had just witnessed. Did this mean that all toys were...

"Oh my God," Molly whispered. "I still have barbies! Are they… alive too?" The question hung in the air, refusing to be acknowledged just yet. "Holy geez, I don't want to go in my room, I'm too freaked out!"

Andy's eyes widened at his sister's epiphany. Sure, she might be a little old now for such playthings, but they were a source of sentimental value, so she'd kept them. Andy obviously couldn't blame her, since he'd refused to give away his core group of toys. He was immensely glad he'd hung on to them. And also equally nervous to enter his bedroom. Like poison the guilt at storing away his oldest and most cherished toys, whom apparently were _alive_, spread throughout his bones.

Andy was also a bit shocked that Molly had outright just _accepted_ what they'd just seen on the camera.

"Was that actually… real though?" Andy whispered, eyes still wide.

"It had to have been," Molly answered easily. "There's no other explanation."

Andy couldn't help agreeing with her. "We should show mom. You know, for a second opinion."

Molly snorted. "Oh yeah, right, good idea. She'd totally freak."

"No more than we are now," her brother reflected. He sighed and swiped a hand through his hair. God this was all so weird. "Man, we would never have discovered this without this camera," he said after a moment, eyes wide at the realization.

"I can't believe we've never caught any of them out of place before!"

"Caught who out of place? I just wanted to come and see what you both wanted for lunch." She took in their shocked, pale faces and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, you'd better sit down for this," Andy replied, moving over to free room on the couch.

Their mother's frown deepened, the serious mood contagious. In silence they all reviewed the footage again. Well, Andy mostly watched his mother's reactions.

When the camera was again shut off, a tense silence filled the room.

"I… don't know what to say to that," she choked out. "Was that a joke?" But even she had to admit it had seemed too realistic for a prank. The impossible had to be the only possibility…

Andy shook his head. "No. So toys are apparently real, like, with souls and everything. At least mine are. Probably always have been." He buried his head in his hands, moaning in distress. "Oh God, I feel so bad at keeping them in that bin for the last couple of years!"

Molly snorted. "They probably escape all the time. They're probably out right now!"

"Uh, did you see their faces in that footage?" Andy moaned back. "They were petrified. Obviously humans aren't meant to discover this secret."

"This is… unreal," their mother whispered, flabbergasted. "What are you going to do Andy?"

"I don't know. But they're all probably worried about what my reaction will be. I still can't believe what I saw. I don't know if it's really hit me." The logical side of Andy's mental processing was in firm disbelief of the footage, denying with full force everything he'd seen, even though it had clearly been real.

"We should go up to your room and confront them," Molly stated.

Andy massaged the bridge of his nose, sighing. "No, it'll just be me. They're my – things." Somehow calling them "toys" now just seemed inappropriate. "I'm just going to try with Woody. Seems like he's their leader anyways."

Their mother sniffed. "Woody was your Father's, you know. When he was a boy," she said, sounding teary.

"Really?" Andy said, eyes wide. How could he have not known something like that? He'd always just remembered Woody being _there_, not bothering to recall from whom he'd received the doll.

"Cool! I wonder if he has any stories about Dad!" Molly exclaimed. She tugged on her brother's arm. "Go up and ask him, Andy!"

This whole situation was incredibly strange and Andy had a weird, heavy feeling in his gut. What if there were magical toy-related rules, one of them being that any toy who revealed their secret to a human would be destroyed? Did merely seeing their animation on his camera count as a full reveal, or would he have to witness their true nature in real-time? Curiousity burned through Andy and he knew that, eventually, he wouldn't be able to resist finding out either truth.

"Go on," Andy's mother whispered, nudging his arm.

"I'll go see my toys, too!" Molly exclaimed, jumping up from the couch in excitement.

"Maybe you should wait until Andy's done with his, honey," her mother suggested cautiously.

Andy left the room to Molly's whining at the injustice of it all, preferring to let them work it out sans his presence. He had more pressing things on his mind.

Andy places Woody on the bed (holding the sheriff doll was now very awkward), his fifteen-inch body slumped against the pillow. Andy sat cross-legged directly in front, posture slouched. What is essentially a staring contest builds between them, Woody's infuriatingly fake eyes peering back, fixed in place when Andy knew they could dance as much as his own human pair.

"I know you're… _real_, Woody. I saw the footage, so did Molly and mom. I know you're all somehow alive, and probably have been this whole time. So you can drop the act now."

_But I can't, Andy! I appeared alive to one kid before, and that did NOT turn out well… I don't want you to be scared of me like Sid was._

This was so _weird_, talking to his toy outside of play-time or imagination. There were no games here, this was a serious investigation. Andy hadn't played with his toys in a few years, ever since he'd become more interested in sports and video games and, most recently, cameras.

"I'm sorry Woody. I'm sorry to all of you guys," he said, now talking to the trunk on the floor, where he knew his other toys were kept. "I know I haven't been paying you any attention… but at least I never gave you up, eh?" True, he had given away some of his less favourite toys over the years, like Bo Peep. He felt terribly about that now, eyes widening as he looked back at Woody. During play-time he'd always forced a romance between Bo and the cowboy – what if they'd _actually_ been in love, and he'd – oh God – he'd just torn them out of each other's lives? This was getting incredibly complicated…

Woody remained lifeless in the face of Andy's apology. Nothing was happening, and Andy felt a little stupid.

"Look, if there's some rule that commands you guys to not reveal yourselves or something, wouldn't it have already taken effect because of the whole camera incident?"

_He… he has a point…_

No response. Andy resisted the sudden urge to shake an answer out of the cowboy doll. Maybe pulling his string would… No, that would be sooo awkward.

Andy sighed in frustration and rolled his eyes. "Okay fine, you win this round. But I'm not giving up. I won't freak out, I swear, if that's what you're worried about. But if you need time, that's cool."

The teenager left his room, leaving behind some very conflicted toys.

"The kid has a point though," Mr Potato Head spoke from the storage bin.

They heard Woody sigh in frustration from the bed. He got up and jumped into the bin. All the toys regarded him with wide eyes, awaiting their leader's decision. Rex was twisting his small hands together in anxiety.

"Well sheriff, what'll it be?" Buzz asked quietly.

Woody chewed at his thumbnail, a nervous habit he often employed. He sighed again. "I just don't want a repeat of what happened with Sid." He shared a serious glance with Buzz, the only other toy who knew the gravity of the aforementioned situation.

Jesse and Bulls-eye, who had never heard the tale of what had happened next door, appeared confused. "Who in tarnation is Sid?"

Buzz and Woody gave them all a short version of how Buzz had almost had a chance to go into space (except that "toy" rocket had been crappy and instead would probably have blown the space toy into a thousand pieces), and how the cowboy doll had passively threatened Sid against torturing his playthings every again.

"Aw, come on Woody, our Andy's nothin' like that kid!" Jesse said earnestly.

"Yeah, that Sid boy was a real creep!"

"I know, I know! Andy has a much better heart," Woody agreed.

"And he didn't freak out at the footage, did he? None of them did!"

"Give the boy a chance, Woody! How bad could it be?" Mrs Potato Head urged.

Woody studied all of their earnest faces before finally turning to Buzz. The space cadet seemed thoughtful. "What do you think we should do?"

"I say we remind him of the incident with Sid first, so that he understands our hesitation," Buzz answered.

Woody felt relieved at the brilliant suggestion. "Great idea! I'll leave him a note!" He paused to glance at the fading light outside. "Tomorrow. It's getting too late for all this drama."

Andy returned back to his room that night after dinner. He had been a bit nervous about re-entering the space, when he knew that all of his toys were supposedly sentient beings and stuck in the bin he'd stored them in.

"Goodnight then," Andy murmured before turning off his light.

Woody felt a swell of happiness that he knew was shared by the rest of the toys. He barely managed to resist whispering "goodnight" back. He shared a warm smile with Buzz. Maybe it would be okay? His gut flipped unpleasantly when he thought of the next course of action; seeing his toys alive in real-time might make Andy flip out like Sid had, making a "psychic evaluation" necessary and separating toys from owner permanently. Woody tried to calm his thoughts enough to shut down his mind. There was no way Andy was like Sid… _No way._

Before Andy got out of bed on Sunday morning, Woody sped out of the bin, ripped a sticky note off the thick pad on the teen's desk and, all the while shooting furtive glances back at his still sleeping owner, took a Sharpie and wrote a simple note:

"_Remember Sid?"_

His task complete, Woody returned to the bin, resigned to waiting in anxiety for Andy's reaction.

Another hour passed slowly by and then they heard the sounds of Andy waking. Without glancing at his desk he escaped to the bathroom, returning only when he had fully woken up. He stopped at his desk, finally noticing the yellow sticky note.

"Hm," he muttered. Note in hand, he exited the room.

Woody collapsed on himself, tension leaving with the note. "What?! That's it?"

Jesse was beside herself with excitement. "What do yah reckon that means?"

Buzz put a hand on both of their shoulders. "I'm sure he's taking the note to his mother and sister for an inspection, that's all."

"Who knows how long that could take…" the cowboy muttered, impatient.

"I reckon he just don't remember Sid, Woody," Slinky suggested. "It was a long time ago."

Andy hadn't known what to expect upon waking up the next morning, but the short note left on his desk was more than he'd been hoping for.

He _did_ remember Sid – he was a weird, dark kid who liked to bully everything he touched, so Andy hadn't interacted with him much; his mother had actively discouraged it. What he didn't know was what Woody was referring to about the kid in particular. Was the reference to a specific event, or the troubled teen in general? Andy decided to show his mother the note to confirm. He was sure it was the next step in gaining his toys' trust.

His mother was down with Molly in the kitchen already having breakfast.

"Wow, a new record big bro! Usually we're already done the dishes by the time you get your lazy butt out of bed," his sister said in a snotty tone.

Andy rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He wasn't even hungry – he had other pressing things on his mind. Speaking of which…

"Hey Mom, do you remember Sid?"

She looked perplexed for a second, head tilted and mouth pulled into a frown. "Of course I do. Hasn't been around much lately, what with being transferred to the Alternative School. Why?"

"Who's Sid?" Molly asked.

Andy ignored her, much more interested in where his mother was taking this. He handed her the note. "This was left on my desk this morning. I think… I think Woody wrote it, cuz I sure didn't. I think he needs me to remember something about him, but I don't know what."

"Moooooom, who's _Sid?_" Molly asked again, louder.

"Just some kid Molly, okay? Geez, I'm trying to figure something out."

The girl's eyes widened. "Wait, that cowboy doll can write?!"

Andy shrugged. "Apparently."

"So he was too shy to actually talk to you, but he can write you a note?" She frowned. "Doesn't make much sense."

Mrs Davis was having a hard time believing that the little note she held in her hand had actually been composed by a cowboy doll, but she decided, even if it was some elaborate joke set up by her son, she'd play along.

"Anyways," Andy continued, "why'd Sid get sent to the Alternative School? I mean, I know he was a bit messed up, but…"

His mother frowned disapprovingly at her son's choice of descriptives (though she didn't blame him). "Hm… I think he had some sort of psychic evaluation. When he was about seven or eight, I think."

Andy frowned, confused more than ever. "I wonder why…"

Mrs Davis shrugged. "I can't remember. His parents obviously didn't want to share such personal information."

Molly bounced up and down in her chair, excited at the mystery Woody had supplied them. "Well obviously it had something to do with toys cuz Woody didn't write anything else in the note."

"Hm," Andy murmured. "I guess so…" He sighed. "I just wish he would talk to me. It'd be so much easier." _And cooler!_

Mrs Davis shrugged and rose from the table, putting her dishes in the sink. "Well, I'll leave it to you then. I have to run some errands today with Molly."

Molly jumped up from her seat. "Yay shopping!"

Andy rolled his eyes. He would never understand why they had to make such frequent shopping trips.

"By the way Molly, did you, um, try anything with your toys last night?"

The little girl pouted at him and crossed her arms. "No, cuz you both told me not to."

"Wow, you actually listened to someone's advice for once? I'm impressed, Molls," he laughed, ducking out before she could slap his arm.

Alright, thought Andy with determination, _this is it_. _Right now I'm getting to the bottom of this. No more wasting time being curious!_

He skipped up the stairs, making more noise than usual to clearly announce his impending arrival to his bedroom. "Okay guys, I'm coming in. Woody, I want to talk to you again. Or at you, until you stop being so stubborn."

Like the day before, he grabbed Woody from the bin and set him on the bed. He hesitated before sitting down in front of the doll, considering the rest of the toys. He spent a minute staring at their static faces, their fake manufactured smiles set like stone. Hopefully after today he'd never see those expressions again.

"Okay, to stop showing blatant favouritism, I'm gonna let you all out." With that announcement he placed all of the toys on the bed, completing a semi-circle on either side of Woody.

He slapped the yellow square note down in front of the motionless sheriff doll. "First thing – you have pretty good handwriting for a doll. I didn't even know you could write, or hold a pen. I'm impressed." He paused, waiting for any reaction at the compliment. None. Moving on. "Second – I couldn't figure out what you meant about Sid, so I asked my mom. She said that he had some psychic evaluation or something, and was sent to an Alternative School. I know he was pretty messed up, but she thinks something specific happened back when we were little. This is probably what you meant, yeah?"

Again, nothing. Andy summoned up patience and pressed on.

"I don't know what happened, but obviously you do. Maybe you were there when the trigger event happened? Hmm…" he muttered, thinking out loud. "Or maybe…" Andy thought about what could possibly make an eight year old have a major panic attack, enough to warrant having therapy, that involved his toy, and it clicked. "You appeared alive to him, didn't you?"

It may have been a trick of the light, but Andy could have sworn he saw a flash of _something_ in Woody's eyes.

Andy leaned in closer, hunching his back, peering closely into the cowboy's big brown eyes. "What happened?" Andy snorted to himself – such a simple question wouldn't get him anywhere. He needed to goad the toy to life… Andy sat back, eyes narrowed. "Well whatever, I'm sure it was for some insignificant reason. Probably didn't even matter."

_That_ did the trick. Whatever Andy had said spurred Woody to life, the doll entering animation in a frustrated rage.

"Andy! He was torturing his toys! And he was gonna blow up Buzz!" He practically shouted it, so frustrated in his need to explain; it had been building up inside of him since Andy's first interrogation the day before. It was like a dam was broken, and not just with the sheriff; now that their leader had revealed himself, the other toys saw fit to animate themselves.

Andy watched as all of his favourite childhood toys came to life before him, their expressions a mix of concern, relief, excitement and caution.

"Uh… what?" Andy finally croaked out, trying to remember the very important thing Woody had just told him.

The cowboy doll seemed a bit embarrassed at his outburst now and sheepishly sat back down against the pillow. Buzz stepped in, right hand to his forehead in a salute.

"Affirmative! I was in a dangerous situation at Sid's fortress of terror and Woody risked his life to rescue me. The only option was for him to expose himself, and when he did, the kid didn't take it too well."

Andy let out a bark of laughter. The toys all immediately looked affronted, especially Woody and Buzz.

"Not a typical reaction," the astronaut toy muttered.

"No no, it's just that you sound _exactly_ like what I imagined. All serious and stuff," Andy laughed. He became serious, and, still trying to accept the surrealism of the entire situation, nodded for the toy to explain further. "Sorry, go on."

"Buzz was strapped to a rocket," Woody cautiously explained. "Sid liked to… torture his toys. It was awful. They were all mixed up with different limbs and heads. They looked right freaky, but they were actually pretty nice folks."

"Long story short," Buzz continued for him, "Sid thought it'd be funny to strap me to a rocket - "

"An _actual_ rocket," Woody cut in.

"Yes. The fuse had been lit and I was about to really go infinity and beyond, but then Woody saved the day. He – well, he got the message across that toys weren't to be played with like that anymore."

Andy sat back and blew out a breath, eyes wide with disbelief as he tried to picture the scenario.

"The story gets better every time, I reckon'!"

"Oh wow, hey Jesse!" Andy said happily. "Man this is so weird," he added in a whisper.

The toys all waited for Andy to speak again, not wanting to overwhelm their human.

"Hm, so that's why he had to go to a shrink. But then I guess there wasn't really anything wrong with him…"

"Oh I wouldn't say that," Woody cut in, crossing his arms. "The way that kid treated his playthings was good sign enough."

"Yes I would have to agree," Buzz added, shuddering in disgust at the memory of Sid's toys.

"But Woody, how could you have thought that I would react like Sid did? Obviously I never tortured you guys. I mean seriously… I'm offended," he frowned, gripping his heart through his shirt for dramatic effect.

"I just had to be cautious… that was my first experience showing a human our true nature. I couldn't bare it if you had reacted like that," the sheriff answered, peering up at Andy, letting his love for the boy shine through his brown eyes.

Andy sat back a bit, slightly uncomfortable with the intensity in his _toy's_ gaze. There were a million questions racing around Andy's mind, like how this was even possible in the first place. There would be time to ask all of them, and hopefully all of them would be answered, but first…

A great sigh escaped from Andy. He slumped his shoulders and smeared a hand over his face. Guilt churned in his stomach, making his skin crawl, made worse by all the genuinely concerned and loving gazes turned up at him. "I'm so sorry you guys. Seriously. I… I had no idea. I mean, I wouldn't have put – put you all in that dark trunk if…" He stilled when he felt a small polyester hand rest on his wrist.

"Andy. Listen to me," the sheriff said, voice commanding and leaving no room for argument or interruption. "Of _course_ you had no idea. You were never supposed to find out. And besides, we all had each other."

Andy looked at all of their optimistic faces, feeling absolutely horrible and ridiculous.

Woody continued. "You might not play with us anymore, but the years we did get to spend with you will always be in our hearts. And we'll be here for you as long as you need us."

"Darn tootin'!" Slinky chimed in, grinning.

"Goddamnit, I don't deserve you guys. I've been a shitty owner. I mean, I could have at least put you out in my desk or something." He sighed. Woody gave him a slightly sad smile and stepped back from Andy, rejoining the rest of the toys. Andy perked up and looked at the cowboy doll with wide eyes. "Hey, Woody, my mom said that you were my Dad's? Before mine?"

Jesse gasped and slapped Woody enthusiastically on the shoulder. "That true, Woody? That's somethin' right special!"

"Impressive, old man," Buzz grinned.

Woody rolled his eyes at the astronaut toy. "Yeah, it's true. He was a fine man, your Father," he said, smiling sadly at his owner.

There was a heavy few seconds of silence as Andy caught his breath, blinking rapidly to soothe the burning in his eyes. "I… I don't really remember him much. Do… do you?"

"A toy remembers every owner he's ever had," Woody answered with a nod. "Before you there was just David."

"David…"

"Would you like to hear about him, Andy?"

Andy almost answered _yes_ immediately, then paused, biting his lip. As much as Andy wanted to hear about his deceased Father, there was someone even more eager to share in recollections. "Would you be willing to tell my Mom, too?" Andy sighed, rolling his eyes. "And Molly?"

Andy thought the toys would be apprehensive of exposing their true nature to even more humans, but on the contrary, they all hummed with excitement. Now the metaphorical dam of truth had broken and they were eager to properly meet the rest of their owner's family. The two girls were still out shopping, but Andy and the toys could wait.

"We should probably keep this secret to ourselves though, right?" Andy asked wisely.

Buzz nodded sternly. "That would be best."

"Sure," he smiled. "Hey Woody?"

"Yeah, partner?"

"Thanks. For telling me the truth… about you guys. I know it was hard."

Woody chuckled. "I guess it was meant to be, eh? What with that camera an' all."

At the mention of the camera, Ham perked up. "Andy! You gotta let me look at your camera! The specs on it are amazing! Seriously."

Andy laughed and agreed, still amazed that his toy knew so much more than him about electronics. "Do you guys just Google shit all day?"

"Language, Andy!" Buzz barked from the side of the room.

The little pig shrugged as best he could. "Eh, it fills the time."

Andy suppressed another wave of guilt and shook his head in amusement. "You're just lucky I never check my internet history. Otherwise this top-secret reveal session would have happened a while ago."

That the piggy bank toy could give Andy such a look of condescension was impressive and made the boy laugh out lough. "Right, obviously you clear it each time. Duh."

Andy placed his new camera on the bed in front of the toys and let them "oooh" and "aaaw" at it, requesting Ham to optimize the settings for him. It was extremely bizarre, watching the playthings of his childhood interact and speak and _look _at him, but it was definitely real, and Andy couldn't be happier, knowing he was now a part of this strange new reality.

* * *

Ergh… super lame ending I know, but it needed to end somehow. Also, I don't know if Andy's Dad has been given a canon name, so I just made one up. In retrospect "David Davis" is kind of a stupid full name, but I can't change it now - it just fits.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
